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First of all, let me preface my comments on the hiring of Oliver Purnell as the new men's basketball coach at DePaul by saying that I believe he is an excellent choice. He proved he could build a successful basketball program at football-crazy Clemson and compete with national powers Duke and North Carolina in the basketball-crazy Atlantic Coast Conference. For the time being, that's good enough for me. And it should be good enough for DePaul.
Sure, Purnell has never recruited a player from the Chicago area. In fact, I thought it was very revealing and slightly amusing that the only coaches he mentioned when the conversation turned to Chicago recruiting were AAU strongmen Larry Butler and Mac Irvin.
Another local AAU coach, Mike Irvin, Mac's son, later said he didn't know anything about Purnell, that he had no ties to Chicago. By the time you read this, I'm sure Mike's father has informed him of Purnell's pedigree.
Not surprisingly, some Public League coaches have voiced their resentment over Purnell's selection. They once complained if a new coach at DePaul or Illinois or UIC wasn't black. Now they complain if he doesn't come with their stamp of approval, if he hasn't already given them a good measure of respect. Clearly, at this moment, Purnell doesn't know them.
But don't forget that Public League coaches resented the hiring of Lou Henson at Illinois--until Henson hired Tony Yates and then Jimmy Collins as his chief recruiters in Chicago and all was forgiven. The same scenario occurred when DePaul hired Pat Kennedy, before he began to recruit the city's best players.
Public League coaches demand respect because they certainly don't wield much power. With the exceptions of Carver's Larry Hawkins, Simeon's Bob Hambric and King's Landon Cox, most of Chicago's elite players were lured to colleges beyond Illinois' borders because they were persuaded by AAU coaches, street agents or other influence peddlers.
Cox sent Efrem Winters and Marcus Liberty to Illinois, Levertis Robinson to Cincinnati and Ahmad Shareef to Pittsburgh. But he had no control when Rashard Griffith chose Wisconsin and Jamie Brandon, Imari Sawyer and Leon Smith were train wrecks.
Like Cox, Hambric had a good relationship with Illinois, sending Nick Anderson, Deon Thomas, Ervin Small, Bryant Notree and Calvin Brock to Champaign. But his successor, Robert Smith, wasn't a factor when Derrick Rose opted for Memphis, thanks to his brother Reggie's encouragement.
Why didn't DePaul consider Duke assistant Chris Collins, a local favorite and son of former Chicago Bulls coach and NBA star Doug Collins? Did Collins even express interest in the job? Isn't he hoping to be heir apparent to the Duke job when 63-year-old Mike Krzyzewski retires? Didn't DePaul make it abundantly clear that it wanted to hire someone with head coaching experience at the college level?
Isiah Thomas? He has a lot of baggage, something DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto surely considered. More importantly, he once had a chance to demonstrate loyalty to DePaul and he blew it. Old-timers and alumni haven't forgotten that Isiah had an opportunity to join his best friend Mark Aguirre when Ray Meyer was building a national power at DePaul. Instead, he chose Indiana.
Purnell is well-grounded and well-connected. He is close to George Raveling, Nike's godfather of grass-roots basketball. Raveling is close to Larry Butler, who runs one of the most successful AAU programs in the country.
Curtis Jackson, an old friend, a frequent poster to this blog and a keen observer of high school basketball and college recruiting in the Chicago area, suggests a possible game plan that Purnell might embrace, a sure-fire way to curry favor with Public League coaches and get his regime off in the right direction.
It calls for Purnell to hire Mark Aguirre or another well-known former Public League basketball star, Darrell Walker, as his associate head coach, fill in his staff with two or three assistants whom he knows well, then wait for Robert Smith to obtain his degree while serving as director of basketball operations.
Jackson reminds that is a similar plan that John Calipari implemented at Memphis when he hired one-time DePaul star Rod Strickland and former Memphis star Milton Wagner to join his staff.
No matter which strategy Purnell decides to imploy, look for the fireworks to begin sooner than later.
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Purnell always seemed like a nice enough person, but I dont think he has shown himself to be a great coach or that the product he put on the court at Clemson, or Dayton for that matter, was all that stellar. I don't believe he ever has won an NCAA tourney game, but I guess if a program has not been to the NCAAs in 10 years, just getting there is perhaps a step in the right direction.
Certainly if he can get a CPL person on his staff, he has a fighting chance, but I think the Big LEast was shown to be a paper tiger this year, and the commuter school sits at the bottom of that league.
Good hire for Depaul bad hire for those greedy insecure egotistical CPS coaches. I read that Smith said he wouldnt allow Purnell to recruit his kids without a key hire.. Well thats pretty much ignorant conisdering you would be denying your student athelete a shot at a college education because of your ego!
Grow up CSP coaches. While any good coach throught the COUNTRY should recruit Chicago for any success at the college level, I dont think its inevitable.
Well if the CPS coaches are being like that fine.. rectuit the suburbs and downstate. I dont think its the highschool coach that really has the leverage in this case.
These coaches should be reaching out to Purnell. Instead they take the egotistical "its all about me route"
Bring back Joey Meyer. Just kidding. I hope Depaul starts winning and Purnell seems like a coach that will not cheat to get there.
I totally agree with the historical layout Mr. Bell presented, however; rumblings are already starting from my contacts in ACC Country and Ohio regarding Purnell. Since its just intriguing gossip- for now- I won't go any further.
But; this could very much be DePaul's last chance in an long time to get it right. Can Purnell get it done? I hope so... but, I have to say it can get rocky real fast if he makes the wrong staff hires.
His staff will have to be able to set the tone. Let's hope, he allows himself to step out on faith in a city that can be real good to him- or equally unforgiving, especially in the city.
Curtis K.Jackson Sr.
DID YOU GUYS EVER WATCH THE MOVIE, RAGING BULL!
WELL IN THAT MOVIE, JAKE LAMOTTA WANTED A TITLE SHOT, HE THOUGHT HE COULD GET THE TITLE SHOT WITHOUT THE GOODFELLAS, AND HE WAS WRONG, AND HE EVEN HAD TO THROW A FIGHT TO GET THE SHOT AT THE TITLE!
THEY SAID IN THE MOVIE, JAKE WON'T GET A SHOT WITHOUT US!
NOW THAT WAS A MOVIE, IT MAY HAVE HAPPENED AND IT MAY HAVE NOT, THE POINT IS, DEPAUL CANNOT BE SUCCESSFUL WITHOUT PLAYERS FROM THE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND THE CHICAGOLAND AREA, YOU KNOW IT, I KNOW IT, RAY CHARLES KNOWS IT, LOOK AT ALL THE TALENT THAT LEAVES THE STATE, ISN'T THE BIG EAST THE BEST CONFERENCE TO PLAY BASKETBALL, WELL GUESS WHAT DEPAUL IS IN THE BIG EAST, DEPAUL IS THE LARGEST CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY IN THE UNITED STATES, DEPAUL IS A VERY GOOD PLACE TO RECEIVE AND EDUCATION AND PLAY BASKETBALL, RAY MEYER WOULD AGREE, AS DO I, THE CPS COACHES DIDN'T EXPECT TO BE CALLED BY MRS. LENTI-PONSETTO, SOME WERE ASKED A QUESTION, AND SOME EXPRESSED THEIR FEELINGS, THEY WOULDN'T STOP ONE OF THEIR PLAYERS FROM ATTENDING A PRESTIGOUS UNIVERSITY LIKE DEPAUL, THEY JUST WANT DEPAUL TO CONSIDER THEIR PLAYERS, THEY GO HAND IN HAND!
WELCOME TO CHICAGO, COACH PURNELL, MUCH SUCCESS TO YOU, ALSO WELCOME TO YOUR FAMILY, WELCOME TO THE CITY OF BIG SHOULDERS!
I think it is hilarious at best that Robert Smith has taken issue with this hire. Purnell did very well at Clemson without a Simeon player and I think he'll be fine. Anyway, I would be leery of Simeon players because they tend not to be academic qualifiers. Ask Memphis.
Let's be realistic everybody. The Chicago Public league has the best basketball players in the country. I know many don't like the Public League, but we have to face the fact that the talent is in the CPL. Depaul hasn't landed any of the top kids from CPL outside of Koshwal in a long, long time. The CPL has won 5 consecutive state basketball titles and 6 in 5 years. They have kids who've competed in the NCAA final four over the years, and throughout the tourney representing schools all over the country consistently. There are presently 7 or 8 players in the NBA from CPL and numerous division one college players out there performing. The prospects are even better for the future. There are several kids over 6'7" in 6th grade right now in the CPL elementary basketball program which has 300 teams in 5th through 8th grade. Make no mistake, DePaul needs to hire a CPL connected person. Not a street agent, not an AAU coach, but a qualified CPS - connected "educated" person who can tell you what's coming even from the CPS grammar schools. You need this diplomat who can speak to the masses within the Englewood and West Side communities in Chicago, as well as inside the Big East Board room and elsewhere. I know who should be hired, and I bet DePaul can get him for 15% of what they gave Purnell. Maybe Director of Basketball Operations, or Personnel would be a great title? Think about it. It's time colleges do what the NBA does with these positions. I guarantee you will get the top kids like DePaul did when they got Mark, Terry Cummings, Teddy Grubbs, Quentin Richardson, Bobby Simmons, Lance Williams, and others. You guys reading this should know who I'm referring to, and Purnell should try to find out who this is. It will help him build much faster by getting the studs from Chicago, including Blackshear who we all know is better than Jeremy Richmond.
Hiring a coach is a crap shoot. DePaul is going through a situation very similar to Indiana University, without the cell phone mess. It has been longer since DePaul has really been relevant but the problems are similar. Fans and alumni are not happy at either university. Everyone now knows more than the AD, the University President and the Board of Trustees.
High school coaches are notorious for flexing their muscles. This problem exists not only in basketball but football as well. Can the college coach ignore the high school coaches? Absolutely not! I believe that Purnell has already contacted the high school coaches in question, I got this information from the Tribune Prep Pages. Communication is a big priority. So Purnell seems to understand.
I have no intention of putting anyone down but here are some numbers that every person should consider:
All of these numbers come from Scout.com.
California
Sorry, cursor bounced.
California has 44 players ranked from 2 stars to 5 stars.
North Carolina has 44
New York has 23
Indiana has 18
Illinois as 22
Mr. Purnell has to recruit outside Illinois. No one gets every athlete that they want. The same situation exists at Indiana. Tom Crean is recruiting the state of Indiana but he is forced to recruit outside the state, much to the dismay of the Hoosier faithful.
Not sure any of this is helpful but I feel that people everywhere need to understand that they don't understand, and that includes me.
Chicago does not have the best talent in the country that belongs to the New york / New Jeresy area. There are more divsion one players from that area than Chicagao. You can look it up. DePaul just needs one local kid a year from the area and needs to attract kids from elsewhere.
Blackshear probably is better than Jeremy Richmond. Nobody has really heard of this Jeremy Richmdond kid..but Blackshear at this point is not better than JeREME RICHMOND of Waukegan.
GO AHEAD DARNELL WITH YOUR SARCASM, ALL YOU WANT, DAYTON IS GETTING COACH SMITH'S BEST PLAYER NEXT SEASON, TOO BAD HE ISN'T ON THE NORTHSIDE OF CHICAGO, PLAYING FOR DEPAUL!
I THINK YOU HAVE A PERSONAL PROBLEM WITH COACH SMITH, THAT IS YOUR BUSINESS, BUT THIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS, BOBBY SIMMONS PLAYED AT DEPAUL, AND HE ATTENDED SIMEON!
WHEN YOU HAVE A COACH THAT HAS WON 3 STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS, YOU START A RELATIONSHIP WITH THAT COACH, COACH PURNELL KNOWS IT, COME ON DARNELL THE CPS HAS GOOD PLAYERS, AND SOME NEED TO ATTEND DEPAUL UNIVERSITY!
I WAS THE ONE WHO WANTED COACH SMITH TO GET AN INTERVIEW FOR THE VACANT POSITION AT DEPAUL, BUT YOU MADE A REMARK ABOUT WHY THEY WOULDN'T GIVE HIM THE INTERVIEW, I DON'T MAKE IT MY BUSINESS TO KNOW THE EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND OF ANY COACH, BUT ONCE AGAIN THAT WAS YOUR BUSINESS!
DEPAUL MADE A GOOD HIRE IN OLIVER PURNELL, COACH SMITH VOICED HIS OPINION, I THINK THEY LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING EACH OTHER IN THE FUTURE, AS WELL AS ALOT OF CHICAGOLAND COACHES, WE NEED THE BEST FROM THE CPS TO CONSIDER DEPAUL AS A VIABLE PLACE TO BE A STUDENT-ATHELETE, DON'T YOU AGREE?
phil smith jr
caps lock dude
seriously
you need to just stop shouting at us in EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR POSTS.
that crapola is getting beyond old
I fail to understand why taylor bell keeps posting his comments when mr. smith continues to only use caps lock in his posts and yell at the rest of us. insulting.
Phil, I agree that it would be a very good thing to see Chicago players attend Depaul again. And understand that I am pulling for all of them to be successful in life, no matter what they do. As I have stated before, my criticisms are reserved for the individuals who are involved with these kids for their own personal benefit at the expense of the children's social and academic growth.
Let's look at the hyprocrisy of it for a moment. Robert Smith is being critical of Depaul's hiring of Oliver Purnell. Does he know this man's background? Is he familiar with his record and the fact that his players graduate from college? Or does none of that matter because he's not a Chicago guy? I believe I read somewhere that upwards of 70 percent of the kids that play for Purnell graduate from college. In my mind, that alone is a reason to hire someone like him. Especially if you take into account that only 6 percent of CPS students are able to make that achievement. Forgive me for being out-of-touch but I believe that the purpose of attending an institution of higher learning is to prepare the young person for life. If Mr. Purnell has a formula for doing that with the players that he recruits to his program, he deserves a shot, I don't care how many games he wins!!
So for a person who hasn't invested in himself enough to graduate from college when he's had an opportunity to be critical of someone who has figured a way to our children to do so in these tough times is somewhat insulting to me.
For some of us Phil, this thing is bigger than basketball.
HEY SEAN T,
I ASK MYSELF THE SAME QUESTION EVERY TIME I SEE YOUR NAME!
ONCE AGAIN YOU HAVE NOTHING TO ADD TO THE SUBJECT!
THANKS FOR BEING CONSISTENT!
TO DARNELL,
IF YOU READ COACH SMITH'S COMMENTS, HE WAS LOBBYING MORE FOR TRACY WEBSTER NOT TO LOSE HIS JOB!
REMEMBER STAN SIMPSON, WELL TRACY WEBSTER WAS IN ON HIS RECRUITING AT U OF I, BEFORE HE LEFT AND WENT TO KENTUCKY, THE GUY AT KENTUCKY LOST HIS JOB, AND TRACY WEBSTER WAS HIRED AT DEPAUL!
P.S. I THOUGHT OLIVER PURNELL WAS HIRED TO COACH BASKETBALL AT DEPAUL, WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS IS BIGGER THAN BASKETBALL, THIS IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT, PLEASE CLARIFY YOUR STATEMENT!
DON'T FORGET IF YOU LOOK BACK, MIDNIGHT MADNESS AT DEPAUL UNIVERSITY LAST YEAR, SOME OF MAC IRVIN'S PLAYERS WERE IN ATTENDANCE, EVERY COACH WORTH HIS SALT WILL KEEP THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION OPEN WITH ALL AAU PROGRAMS AND THE CITY HIGH SCHOOL OF THE SCHOOL'S LOCATION!
Phil, I know who Tracy is, in fact, I attended high school, (Thornton) with some of his older family members. I agree that Purnell was hired as the basketball coach, however, if all he does is coach basketball, he is shortchanging our kids. Do you think Bobby Knight, Dean Smith, Coach K, John Thompson and John Chaney, just to name a few, only teach and coach basketball? I highly doubt it!! Coaches at every level have young and impressionable minds under their influence in a very controlled environment. If they don't use that environment to help prepare our young people for life beyond the sport and we don't hold them to account in that regard, we are all missing the point. I once read that John Thompson graduated 96 percent of the players that played four years for him at Georgetown. I don't care how many games/championships he has won, he did his job! So if Purnell is using his influence as a basketball coach to help prepare young people for life beyond the game, we need to be mindful of who and what we are protesting before we protest.
I also agree that in today's climate, it wouldn't hurt to have positive relationships with both the local high school coaches and AAU programs. However, I do not believe he needs to give in to the influences of outsiders who are not qualified to decide who should be under his employ. If he decides to hire Tracy it should be because he believes Tracy would help his program not to pander to the Robert Smith's of the world.
SO YOU THINK COACH SMITH WAS PANDERING?
HE MAY NOT HIRE COACH WEBSTER, AND THAT WOULD BE COACH PURNELL'S BUSINESS, IT IS HIS PROGRAM, BUT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT TRACY WEBSTER, HE IS A MASTER AT RECRUITING, HE IS LIKE JERRANCE HOWARD, BOTH OF THESE MEN HAVE GREAT REPORES WITH THE YOUTH OF TODAY, AND THEIR FAMILIES!
I GET YOUR POINT ABOUT THE LIFE TEACHING ASPECT OF THE COACH, COACH PURNELL HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN DOING THIS ALL OF HIS LIFE, HE IS A GREAT ROLE MODEL, AND IF HE WEREN'T, DEPAUL WOULD NOT HAVE HIRED HIM!
DON'T FORGET DARNELL, THE MAN HAD A 78 PERCENT GRADUATION RATE AT CLEMSON!
HE WON'T BE BRINGING IN, ANY YOUNGSTERS THAT DON'T UNDERSTAND THEIR TITLE, STUDENT-ATHLETE!
YOU DIDN'T TELL ME WHY YOU DON'T LIKE COACH SMITH?
EVERYTIME YOU BLOG, YOU PUT A DIG IN ON HIM, DID HE DO SOMETHING TO YOU, OR WHAT IS THE STORY?
YOU DO APPROVE OF HIS 3 STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS DON'T YOU?
I see Mr. Bell has lit a fire to his readership in regards to DePaul's hiring of Oliver Purnell.
I have had a chance to talk with a few players and coaches who know Purnell well- all whom curiously wanted to remain anonymous- and; surprisingly... they were for the most "shocked" by this hire.
Shocked?
Purnell is a coach who worked his way to where he is, no easy "AAU straight to success" gimmicks. He, like Tubby Smith and Leonard Hamilton earned their way into head coaching gigs- by paying their dues as good assistants.
So, don't be surprise to see Purnell "buck" the pressure of the press from the city coaches and the local media. He, from what I'm hearing, is looking forward to "stirring things up".
His track record shows that...
Numerous USA basketball duties and international summer post show he knows how to put himself in the right "high rent" off season spots during international play- which is politically hard to do if your not Coach K or Jimmy up in Syracuse.
No, I think he has a plan. Is it the right plan? Well, we'll see... One thing is for sure, I'm told he has really been pushing the numbers of cell phones owned by a few well-connected NBA coaches in search of the right blend of pro & collegiate talent on his bench, so... let's see where this goes.
I tell you one thing, the next week or so will be quite eventful on "Fullerton". I wonder, what is Ray Meyer thinking about all of this, or Digger Phelps?
The next few weeks will be very interesting...
Curtis K. Jackson Sr.
Jay:
I don't care what you found on scout.com. Chicago has the best basketball players. I'm more of an expert than they are. 5 state championships in a row says Chicago high schools are the best in Illinois by far, and just look around the nation and in the NBA for impact players. Depaul has only been competitive when they've had at least a couple of key scholarship players from Chicago. My point is they need a Chicago person with Public League connections which they don't have right now. I'm telling you what I know. I think Purnell is smart enough to know this too. Phil, I'm talking about someone with better ties than Tracy, and Biily too. They don't really have it. I'll say it again, Blackshear is better than Jereme. Joseph has probably never left Waukeegan to see a man's league where you're challenged every day like in the Public League. Just ask all who saw the Fire play last summer when both of them were present. Blackshear was better, and DePaul needs to show interest in what could be a franchise player. You never know.
Phil, to answer your question, I don't have anything against Robert Smith. I don't know him. I don't like what he represents. It's nothing personal against him but I'm disappointed in this new generation of men who have replaced Robert Hambric, Luther Bedford, Horace Howard and George Stanton, just to name a few. These men were educators first. I strongly believe that our children need to be taught and coached by men of that caliber versus this new age guy who seem to place basketball above and beyond anything else. Whether they know it or not, they are peddling the flesh of our children and ulitimately setting them up to fail in life. I am by no means saying that they are doing this by themselves because clearly others are involved in this process of miseducating these kids but for now we are talking about the coaches. So understand it is nothing personal against Mr. Smith, I would say the same about Loren Jackson, Nick Irvin or anyone I thought was selling our children to the highest bidders to these schools with no regard for the fact that they don't have the necessary skills or interest in being real college student-atheletes who could actually benefit from receiving a college education.
As far as the state titles go, what can I say he won them. However, let me say that schools like Simeon, Whitney Young and Morgan Park, just to name a few, have an unfair advantage over the average public school. These programs are very well funded by the shoe companies and that allows them to lure the best players in the city to their respective schools. The prospect of free travel and other benefits with the best funded AAU teams has a direct influence as to what schools the best basketball players in the city choose. To that end, it's not very hard to win when you consistently have the best talent in the city.
Let me ask you a couple of questions; how good do you think Tyrone Slaughter or Robert Smith would be if they couldn't hand pick the best players the city has to offer? Would we be talking about these guys being great coaches if they were coaching at say Tilden with whatever talent showed up at basketball tryouts?
Darnell:
Your comments are on the money. Well said about shoe companies travel, and coaching ability. Every time these guys(except Smith who was well schooled by Hambric) have to really coach, they're in trouble. None of them have degrees and they benefit from the "gifts" they get from the shoe people, who are corrupt as well. AAU and shoe companies have no rules. That's why they hate the sports administrator guy for CPS. At least he tries to have rules while keeping sports connected to education. Phil Jr., WILL YOU STOP TRYIN TO BE FRIENDS WITH EVERYBODY AND TELL IT LIKE IT IS. Darnell got it right this time.
YOU HAVE NEW COACHES TODAY, THEY SHOULD NOT BE LOOKED DOWN ON BECAUSE THEY DON'T TEACH IN THE CLASSROOM!
BACK IN THE DAY, EVERYONE THAT WORKED IN A SCHOOL WAS RESPECTED, FROM THE CUSTODIANS TO THE LUNCHROOM STAFF, AND OTHER CAREER SERVICE WORKERS, PLEASE DON'T DIMINISH WHAT ROBERT SMITH HAS DONE BECAUSE HE DOESN'T TEACH IN THE CLASSROOM, IT ISN'T RIGHT, I RESPECT THESE MEN AND WOMEN FOR SPENDING TIME HELPING THE YOUTH BECOME BETTER CITIZENS!
VERY UNFORTUNATE SOME OF YOU DON'T FEEL THE SAME WAY!
WE WOULDN'T HAVE GIRLS' AND BOYS CLUBS IN AMERICA IF THEY
FELT THE SAME WAY SOME OF YOU DO!
YOU GUYS DO KNOW ABOUT ASCEP TESTING?
Phil, no one is looking down on these guys because they are not teachers. Just like you, I respect their efforts to do the best that they can with our children. However, I think our children deserve more. By that, I mean trained professionals. Coaching is teaching and there is a science to it, besides I also believe that our kids need to be surrounded by individuals, especially black males, that have earned the accomplishment of finishing what they started collegiately. The concept of finishing translates and our kids need to be exposed to more of it. Sometimes visual aids are wonderful teachers.
No, I don't know ASCEP testing is. Please enlighten us as to what it is and why you believe that it qualifies someone to teach our children. While doing so, answer this question for us: when you go a dentist would you rather he or she be trained in medical school or have passed some sort of ASCEP test for dentists?
Hopefully you get the point.
1. It's ASEP, not ASCEP.
2. Applicant must take and pass either a coaching principles or a coaching orientation course.
3. An IHSA bylaws course.
4. A sports first-aid course.
I am not saying that these men and women can't do a good job. However it seems difficult to believe that these three courses can prepare someone as well as the approximatley 128 semester hours required to attain a teaching degree from a college or university.
Teachers must continue to take classes beyond the bachelors degree. Yes, they are compensated but it takes money to take post graduate courses, and they are not cheap. There is far more to coaching than shooting and rebounding or blocking and tackling.
Darnell, I agree with you 100% the world needs more black males and females in education, whether they are coaches or not.